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The Best American Essays 2015 (The Best American Series)
by Ariel Levy&“22 contributors explore a wide range of experiences&” in this &“illuminating, invaluable&” anthology edited by the author of Female Chauvinist Pigs (Publishers Weekly). Writing an essay is like catching a wave, posits guest editor Ariel Levy. To catch a wave, you need skill and nerve, not just moving water. The writers featured in this volume are certainly full of nerve, and have crafted a wide range of pieces awash in a diversity of moods, voices, and stances. Leaving an abusive marriage, parting with a younger self, losing your sanity to Fitbit, and even saying goodbye to a beloved pair of pants are just some of the experience probed by essays that are unified in the daring of their creation. As Levy notes, Writing around an idea you think is worthwhile—an idea you suspect is an insight—requires real audacity.&” The Best American Essays 2015 includes entries by Hilton Als, Roger Angell, Justin Cronin, Meghan Daum, Anthony Doerr, Margo Jefferson, David Sedaris, Zadie Smith, Rebecca Solnit and others.
Cortadito: Wanderings Through Cuba's Cuisine
by Enrique FernándezThe Miami Herald food columnist explores the culinary traditions of Cuba—and their strange new life in America—in this memoir of an exiled gourmand.In the sprawling Cortadito, Enrique Fernández explores contemporary Cuban cuisine through personal memories of growing up on the pre-revolutionary island. In his sensual journey through the origin and evolution of Cuban food staples, Fernández wonders what shapes flavor: is it the soil or the community—whether at home or abroad? As an exile, he affirms, “I will continue to sample the crumbs that fall from [Cuba’s] table and be thankful and resentful at the same time.”
Rowboat in a Hurricane: My Amazing Journey Across a Changing Atlantic Ocean
by Julie AngusAn intrepid scientist and her fiancé—National Geographic's 2007 Adventurers of the Year—observe the changing ocean while rowing across the Atlantic. In 2005-06, Julie Angus and her fiancé Colin rowed 10,000 kilometers across the Atlantic Ocean—from Lisbon to Costa Rica—making Angus the first woman in the world to travel from mainland to mainland in a rowboat. The 145-day journey gave Angus, a trained biologist, a unique perspective on the ocean. The slow-moving boat became an ecosystem unto itself, attracting barnacles, dorado fish, trigger fish, turtles, sharks, whales, birds, and more, which she was able to observe and document. Angus also saw unmistakable signs of the ocean&’s devastation, with far more plastic bottles, wrappers, toys, and bags than sharks or other once-common sea life. Four cyclones, including two hurricanes, hammered the small boat so intensely that Angus and her companion weren't sure they would survive. Rowboat in a Hurricane records this amazing journey in meticulous, dramatic detail, in the process offering a personal record of an awe-inspiring ecosystem, its fascinating denizens, and the mounting threats to its existence.
The Windows of Brimnes: An American in Iceland
by Bill HolmA Midwesterner contemplates the view of America from a remote Icelandic village: “A pleasure to read and ponder.” —Booklist (starred review)A Minnesotan of Icelandic ancestry, Bill Holm had traveled all over the world, gathering material for a number of rich and memorable books. Then he decided to journey to the land his family had long ago left behind for the United States, and moved into a town with one general store in a nation of a few hundred thousand people. This book recounts his time at Brimnes, his fisherman’s cottage on the shore of a creek in northern Iceland. There, he embarks on a very different life in a very different world, and from thousands of miles away, considers the fate of America—“my home, my citizenship, my burden”—in these provocative, compelling essays.“A master storyteller.” —Los Angeles Times“Bill Holm’s life in [this] place of spare beauty will make readers wish they had a Brimnes where they could restore their souls.” —Pioneer Press (St. Paul)
Ditka: The Player, The Coach, The Chicago Bears Legend
by Chicago TribuneA hard-hitting look at the Chicago Bears&’ legendary player and coach, composed of carefully curated archival Chicago Tribune columns and features. Mike Ditka was drafted by the Bears as a tight end in 1961 and went on to earn Rookie of the Year honors, multiple Pro Bowl selections, and a 1963 championship ring with Chicago during his playing career. Ditka retired in 1972 after stints with Philadelphia and Dallas (where he won Super Bowl VI), but he returned to Chicago as head coach in 1982. He became symbolic of the tough, hard-nosed, hyper-competitive style that defined the Bears through the &’80s. Following the 1985 Bears&’ unforgettable season and Super Bowl victory, Ditka was enshrined as a hero in the minds of Bears fans everywhere.Ditka will take readers on a fascinating and entertaining ride through the words of the award-winning Chicago Tribune journalists who covered &“Iron Mike&” for six decades. From his playing career to his coaching career, from personal triumphs to mishaps and scandals, Ditka is the ultimate fans&’ guide to the career and life of a Hall of Famer who came to define Chicago football in the modern age.
Tuco and the Scattershot World: A Life with Birds
by Brian BrettThe acclaimed author&’s memoir of life with an African grey parrot offers &“a thoughtful and generous celebration of minds and bodies different from our own&” (Times Literary Supplement, UK). For thirty years, Brian Brett shared his office and his life with Tuco, a remarkable parrot given to asking questions such as &“Whaddya know?&” and announcing &“Party time!&” when guests showed up at Brett&’s farm. Although Brett bought Tuco on a whim, he gradually realized the enormous obligation he has to his pet, learning that the parrot is far more complex than he thought. In Tuco and the Scattershot World, Brett not only chronicles his fascinating relationship with Tuco, but uses it to explore the human tendency to &“other&” the world, abusing birds, landscapes, and each other. Brett sees in Tuco&’s otherness a mirror of his own experience contending with Kallman syndrome, a rare genetic condition that made him the target of bullies—and nurtured his affinity for winged creatures. Brett&’s meditative digressions touch on topics ranging from the history of birds and dinosaurs to our concepts of knowledge, language, and intelligence—and include commentary from Tuco himself. By turns provocative and deeply moving, Tuco and the Scattershot World &“is not a straight memoir—it&’s something much more wondrously weird . . . a view of the human predicament that is hilarious, sobering and profound&” (Globe & Mail, UK).
Son of Havana: A Baseball Journey from Cuba to the Big Leagues and Back
by Luis Tiant Saul WisniaA memoir by the mustachioed baseball pitcher who went playing rocky, trash-ridden fields in Castro&’s Cuba to becoming a Boston Red Sox legend. Luis Tiant is one of the most charismatic and accomplished players in Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball history. With a barrel-chested physique and a Fu Manchu mustache, Tiant may not have looked like the lean, sculpted aces he usually played against, but nobody was a tougher competitor on the diamond, and few were as successful. There may be no more qualified twentieth-century pitcher not yet enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. His big-league dreams came at a price: racism in the Deep South and the Boston suburbs, and nearly fifteen years separated from a family held captive in Castro&’s Cuba. But baseball also delivered World Series stardom and a heroic return to his island home after close to a half-century of forced exile. The man whose name—&“El Tiante&” —became a Fenway Park battle cry has never fully shared his tale in his own words, until now. In Son of Havana, Tiant puts his heart on his sleeve and describes his road from torn-up fields in Havana to the pristine lawns of major league ballparks. Readers will share Tiant&’s pride when appeals by a pair of US senators to baseball-fanatic Castro secure freedom for Luis&’s parents to fly to Boston and witness the 1975 World Series glory of their child. And readers will join the big-league ballplayers for their spring 2016 exhibition game in Havana, when Tiant—a living link to the earliest, scariest days of the Castro regime—threw out the first pitch.
Pretty to Think So: Eros and Prostrate Cancer
by Enrique FernándezThe renowned Cuban-American journalist reflects on a life of desire and the waning of sexuality after cancer treatment in this poignant memoir.“Two days ago, the effects of the androgen-deprivation shot a doctor’s assistant had injected under my skin a month earlier kicked in. And now I don’t want.” When a cancer diagnosis, and then various treatments, eliminate libido, the echoes of love and desire in the form of memories remain. What happens to a life when sexual expression is lost? Enrique Fernández’s Pretty to Think So weaves questions of sex, mortality, and identity with a lyricism that readers will not soon forget.
Rosemary Verey: The Life & Lessons of a Legendary Gardener
by Barbara Paul RobinsonThe biography of the inspiring woman who found late-in-life success as &“a powerhouse of British garden design&” (Booklist). Rosemary Verey was a great English gardening legend. Although she embraced gardening late in life, she quickly achieved international renown. She was the acknowledged apostle of the &“English style,&” on display at her home at Barnsley House, the &“must have&” adviser to the rich and famous—including Prince Charles and Elton John—and a wildly popular lecturer in America. Born between the two World Wars, she could have easily lived a predictable and comfortable life, but a devastating accident changed everything. Then, with her architect-husband, she went on to create the gardens at their home that became a mandatory stop on every garden tour in the 1980s and 1990s. At sixty-two, she wrote her first book, followed by seventeen more in twenty years. By force of character, hard work, and determination, she tirelessly promoted herself and her garden lessons, traveling worldwide to lecture, sell books, and spread her message. She was a natural teacher, encouraging her American fans to believe that they were fully capable of creating beautiful gardens while validating their quest for a native vernacular. She also re-introduced the English to their own gardening traditions. Drawing from garden history and its literature, she developed a language of classical formal design, embellished with her exuberant planting style. Rosemary Verey, in her life as in her work, was the very personification of the English garden style. This book is for anyone who believes a garden makes one small part of this earth a little more beautiful.
Repeat Offender: 'Sin City's' Most Prolific Criminal and the Cop Who Caught Him
by Bradley Nickell Warren JamisonA Suspense Magazine Best True Crime Book. &“Mayhem, madness, and suspense . . . with shocking twists and turns that will keep you riveted!&” —Aphrodite Jones, New York Times–bestselling author and host of True Crime with Aphrodite Jones Las Vegas Police Det. Bradley Nickell brings you the inside scoop on the investigation of the most prolific repeat offender Las Vegas has ever known. Daimon Monroe looked like an average guy raising a family with his diffident schoolteacher girlfriend. But just below the surface, you&’ll learn he was an accomplished thief with an uncontrollable lust for excess. His criminal mind had no bounds—he was capable of anything given the proper circumstances. You will be revolted by Monroe&’s wealth amassed through thievery, his plot to kill Det. Nickell, a judge, and a prosecutor, and the physical and sexual abuse to which Monroe subjected his daughters. &“An action-packed, fast-paced true crime thriller from a real-life &‘Sin City&’ cop depicting his battle with a notorious, and dangerous, Las Vegas criminal.&” —Steve Jackson, New York Times–bestselling author of Bogeyman and A Clockwork Murder &“A gripping, true story of a prolific recidivist serial criminal, and the relentless police detective who took him down, despite threats against himself and his family. Heart-pounding at times. An absolute must have book for all crime readers.&” —RJ Parker, bestselling author of Revenge Killings The author is donating 10 percent of the proceeds for the sale of the book to the Rape Crisis Center of Las Vegas
Race and Football in America: The Life and Legacy of George Taliaferro
by Dawn KnightThe “beautifully written” biography of the first African American player to be drafted by the NFL, “a must read for any sports fan” (Warren Rogan, host of the podcast Sports’ Forgotten Heroes).As the first African American to play quarterback, George Taliaferro was a trailblazer whose athletic prowess earned him accolades throughout his football career. Instrumental in leading Indiana University to an undefeated season and undisputed Big Ten championship in 1945, Taliaferro was a star when many major universities had no black players on their rosters and others were stacking black players behind white starters. George Taliaferro would later rack up impressive statistics while playing professionally for the New York Yanks, Dallas Texans, Baltimore Colts, and Philadelphia Eagles. His athletic prowess did little to prevent him from facing segregation and discrimination on a daily basis, but his popularity as an athlete also gave him a platform. Playing professionally gave Taliaferro more opportunity to use football to fight oppression and to interact with other important trailblazers, like Joe Louis, Nat King Cole, Muhammad Ali, and Congressman John Lewis.Race and Football in America tells Taliaferro’s story and profiles the experiences of other athletes of color who were recognized for their athleticism yet oppressed for their skin color, as they fought (and continue to fight) for equal rights and opportunities. Together these stories provide an insightful portrait of race in America.“A portrait of a young man who overcame the obstacles of racism, the military draft, and the death of his father. His vehicle for climbing over obstacles was athletic prowess and inner strength.” —Jim Baumgartner, College Football Hall of Fame
Witness to the Storm: A Jewish Journey from Nazi Berlin to the 82nd Airborne, 1920–1945
by Werner T. Angress&“An extraordinary memoir&” of fleeing the Nazis—and then returning to fight them (Konrad H. Jarausch, author of Broken Lives: How Ordinary Germans Experienced the Twentieth Century). On June 6, 1944, Werner T. Angress parachuted down from a C-47 into German-occupied France with the 82nd Airborne Division. Nine days later, he was captured behind enemy lines and became a prisoner of war. Eventually, he was freed by US forces, rejoined the fight, crossed Europe as a battlefield interrogator, and participated in the liberation of a concentration camp. He was an American soldier—but less than ten years before he had been an enthusiastically patriotic German-Jewish boy. Rejected and threatened by the Nazi regime, the Angress family fled to Amsterdam to escape persecution and death, and young Angress then found his way to the United States. In Witness to the Storm, Angress weaves the spellbinding story of his life, including his escape from Germany, his new life in the United States, and his experiences in World War II. A testament to the power of perseverance and forgiveness, Witness to the Storm is the compelling tale of one man&’s struggle to rescue the country that had betrayed him.
Birch Bayh: Making a Difference
by Robert BlaemireA biography of the US senator from Indiana who was behind such monumental legislation as the 25th Amendment and Title IX. A remarkable history of one of the most legendary US senators of our time, Birch Bayh: Making a Difference reveals a life and career dedicated to the important issues facing Indiana and the nation, including civil rights and equal rights for women. Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, right before the Great Depression, Birch Bayh served more than 25 years in the Indiana General Assembly (1954–1962) and the United States Senate (1963–1981). His influence was seen in landmark legislation over his tenure, including Title IX, the 25th Amendment, the 26th Amendment, Civil Rights of the Institutionalized, Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Act, and the Bayh-Dole Act. Bayh was also the author, chief Senate sponsor, and floor leader of the Equal Rights Amendment and successfully led the opposition to two Nixon nominees to the Supreme Court. Robert Blaemire profiles not only the prolific career of this remarkable senator but also an era when compromise and bipartisanship were common in Congress.&“Bayh has long needed a comprehensive biography, and Robert Blaemire has provided an insider&’s account of Bayh&’s life and career and places him among Indiana&’s leading political figures.&” —Ray E. Boomhower, author of Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary&“The story of Birch Bay&’s political career is completely inspiring, especially in an era that has lost touch with bipartisanship and civility. A must read for Hoosiers and for anyone interested in how democracy worked, when it really worked.&” —Ted Widmer, historian and former presidential speechwriter
The Sun Over The Mountains: A Story of Hope, Healing and Restoration
by Suzie FletcherA memoir of hope, healing and restoration, from star of TV's The Repair Shop, Suzie Fletcher.Suzie Fletcher is the warm and friendly face on TV's The Repair Shop that viewers look forward to watching every week as the resident leather expert - a craft she has honed over four decades and was born out of her love of horses. But while she tends to be the one repairing and offering a gentle kindness to others, Suzie has also been in a process of change, reflection, and healing.In her first book Suzie looks back over her life - which moves from England to Colorado and back again - and the places, people and experiences that have shaped the person she is today. We'll hear for the first time, how Suzie has overcome some of life's most difficult challenges, from complicated relationships to grief.A self-confessed free spirit with a deep connection to nature, Suzie's exceptional warmth and zest for life shine through on every page, making The Sun Over the Mountains a truly inspiring read that will resonate with anyone who has faced uncertainty but has the courage and power within them to overcome it.Featuring Suzie and her brother Steve in conversation - exclusive to the audiobook!
Dr. Mayo's Boy: A Century of American Medicine
by Rob TeneryAn ophthalmologist recounts the lives and experiences of three generations of doctors in America, revealing changes in health care.Dr. Mayo&’s Boy chronicles the medical experiences of a family of Texas physicians in small town Waxahachie and big city Dallas. Full of stories that are often heartening in their humanity and sometimes disturbing in what they reveal about contemporary health care, this book explores how physicians have viewed their commitment to their patients, how they sacrificed to meet the challenges they face, and how the practice of medicine has changed over almost sixty years. While Dr. Mayo&’s Boy is by no means a policy statement, it does offer a nostalgic but clear-eyed look at the past and, through its tales of three doctors&’ lives, asks implicit questions about how we &“manage&” health care today. There must remain one constant—the need for a patient to know that their doctor cares about them as an individual.Praise for Dr. Mayo&’s Boy&“An extraordinary book. Rob Tenery traces the evolution of health care in this country and show how much medicine has gained—and lost—in the past hundred years. In a highly entertaining and eloquent way, Dr. Tenery makes a plea for medicine to return to its roots as a healing profession rather than as a business. Highly recommended!&” —Dean Ornish, MD, founder and president of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco
My Struggle for Peace, Volume 1: The Diary of Moshe Sharett, 1953–1956 (The Diary of Moshe Sharett, 1953–1956 #1)
by Moshe SharettThe first volume of the former Israeli prime minister’s journals from the nation’s early years.My Struggle for Peace is a remarkable political document offering insights into the complex workings of the young Israeli political system, set against the backdrop of the disintegration of the country’s fragile armistice with the Arab states. Replete with Moshe Sharett’s candid comments on Israel’s first-generation leaders and world statesmen of the day, the diary also tells the dramatic human story of a political career cut short—the removal of an unusually sensitive, dedicated, and talented public servant. My Struggle for Peace is, above all, an intimate record of the decline of Sharett’s moderate approach and the rise of more “activist-militant” trends in Israeli society, culminating in the Suez/Sinai war of 1956. The diary challenges the popular narrative that Israel’s confrontation with its neighbors was unavoidable by offering daily evidence of Sharett’s statesmanship, moderation, diplomacy, and concern for Israel’s place in international affairs.This is the first volume in the 3-volume English abridgement of Sharett’s Yoman Ishi [Personal diary] (Ma’ariv, 1978) maintains the integrity, flavor, and impact of the 8-volume Hebrew original and includes additional documentary material that was not accessible at the time. The volumes are also available to purchase as a set or individually.“The editors . . . vastly improved on the Hebrew version by adding Sharett’s speeches, reports, cabinet minutes, and other sources to the text’. . . . These additions makes this work so important and welcome by all who aspire to understand the foreign and defense policies of Israel in its first decade.” —Israel Studies Review
Fritz Bauer: The Jewish Prosecutor Who Brought Eichmann and Auschwitz to Trial (German Jewish Cultures Ser.)
by Ronen SteinkeA biography of the German Jewish judge and lawyer who survived the Holocaust, brought the Nazis to justice, and fought for the rights of homosexuals. German Jewish judge and prosecutor Fritz Bauer (1903–1968) played a key role in the arrest of Adolf Eichmann and the initiation of the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials. Author Ronen Steinke tells this remarkable story while sensitively exploring the many contributions Bauer made to the postwar German justice system. As it sheds light on Bauer&’s Jewish identity and the role it played in these trials and his later career, Steinke&’s deft narrative contributes to the larger story of Jewishness in postwar Germany. Examining latent antisemitism during this period as well as Jewish responses to renewed German cultural identity and politics, Steinke also explores Bauer&’s personal and family life and private struggles, including his participation in debates against the criminalization of homosexuality—a fact that only came to light after his death in 1968. This new biography reveals how one individual&’s determination, religion, and dedication to the rule of law formed an important foundation for German post war society.&“What is clear—and what this book makes clear—is that without people like Fritz Bauer there would have been none of this prosecution of Nazi atrocities, no trials for Auschwitz camp guards or Adolf Eichmann, no rehabilitation of the German resistance against Hitler. Ronen Steinke deserves thanks for bringing this message of Fritz Bauer back to light in such an accessible form, balancing professional distance and sympathy.&” —Kai Ambos, Criminal Law Forum&“Illuminates the biography of a central actor in Germany&’s coming to terms with its Nazi past.&” —Jacob S. Eder, author of Holocaust Angst
On the Sultan's Service: Halid Ziya Usakligil's Memoir of the Ottoman Palace, 1909–1912
by Douglas Scott BrookesThe renowned Turkish author’s memoir of serving Sultan Mehmed V provides a rare look inside the palace politics of the late Ottoman Empire.Before he became one of Turkey’s most famous novelists, Halid Ziya Usakligil served as First Secretary to Sultan Mehmed V. His memoir of that time, between 1909 and 1912, provides first-hand insight into the personalities, intrigues, and inner workings of the Ottoman palace in its final decades.In post-Revolution Turkey, the palace no longer exercised political power. Instead, it negotiated the minefields between political factions, sought ways to unite the empire in the face of nationalist aspirations, and faced the opening salvos of the wars that would eventually overwhelm the country. Usakligil includes interviews with the Imperial family as well as descriptions of royal nuptials, the palaces and its visitors, and the crises that shook the court. He also delivers an insightful and moving portrait of Mehmed V, the man who reigned over the Ottoman Empire through both Balkan Wars and World War I.
The Touch of an Angel (Jewish Lives in Poland)
by Henryk SchönkerThe extraordinary story of a child’s survival of the Holocaust and the basis for the award-winning documentary directed by Marek T. Pawlowski.Henryk Schönker was born in 1931 into one of the most prominent and highly esteemed Jewish families of Oswiecim—the Polish town renamed Auschwitz during the German occupation. He and his family managed to flee Oswiecim shortly before the creation of the Auschwitz death camp, and survived the war through sheer luck and a strong will to survive. The Schönker family’s return to Oswiecim in 1945 provides a fascinating glimpse of challenges faced by Jewish people who chose to remain in Poland after the war and attempted to rebuild their lives there. Schönker’s testimony also reveals an astonishing fact: the town of Oswiecim could have become the departure point for a mass emigration of Jewish people instead of the place of their annihilation. Documents included with the narrative provide support for this claim. Although he was only a child at the time, Henryk Schönker’s life experience was the Holocaust. Even so, death and the threat of death are not the focus of this memoir. Instead, Schönker, with a touching personal style, chooses to focus on how life can defy destruction, how spirituality can protect physical existence, and how real the presence of higher powers can be if one never loses faith.
Anna's Story (Anna's Story Ser.)
by Rich McKayAn immigrant woman reflects on her past in Germany before, during, and after World War II, as well as finding love, family, and a future in America. This is the remarkable life story of Anna Burkardt McKay, who was born in Germany before WWII and who moved to the United States as an American war bride in 1947 to raise a family on a small cattle ranch in Nevada. Through a childhood in Hochst, Germany, where fond memories mingle with remembrances of the horrors of the Second World War&’s beginning; into a young adulthood, filled with terrors of the escape and evasion of Nazi youth work camps; through falling in love and immigrating to the United States to marry, and later have a family, this is Anna&’s Story.
Eastbound through Siberia: Observations from the Great Northern Expedition
by Georg Wilhelm Steller“Traveling with Steller as he botanizes his way across Siberia is part wilderness adventure, part open air museum visit, and a valuable historical window.” —Erika Monahan, author of The Merchants of SiberiaIn the winter of 1739, Georg Steller received word from Empress Anna of Russia that he was to embark on a secret expedition to the far reaches of Siberia as a member of the Great Northern Expedition. While searching for economic possibilities and strategic advantages, Steller was to send back descriptions of everything he saw. The Empress’s instructions were detailed, from requests for a preserved whale brain to observing the child-rearing customs of local peoples, and Steller met the task with dedication, bravery, and a good measure of humor. In the name of science, Steller and his comrades confronted horse-swallowing bogs, leaped across ice floes, and survived countless close calls in their exploration of an unforgiving environment. Not stopping at lists of fishes, birds, and mammals, Steller also details the villages and the lives of those living there, from vice-governors to prostitutes. His writings rail against government corruption and the misuse of power while describing with empathy the lives of the poor and forgotten, with special attention toward Native peoples.“Not only showcases Steller the botanist but also reveals him as an admirable human being with a great sense of humor who managed to keep an upbeat attitude in the most trying circumstances.” —Eckehart J. Jäger“What emerges is a remarkable window into life—both human and animal—in 18th century Siberia.” —The Birdbooker Report“Adds fascinating details to the life of Steller and his travels and discoveries just before joining Bering in Kamchatka to set sail.” —Anchorage Daily News
Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss
by Margaret RenklFrom the New York Times columnist, a portrait of a family and the cycles of joy and grief that mark the natural world: “Has the makings of an American classic.” —Ann Patchett Growing up in Alabama, Margaret Renkl was a devoted reader, an explorer of riverbeds and red-dirt roads, and a fiercely loved daughter. Here, in brief essays, she traces a tender and honest portrait of her complicated parents—her exuberant, creative mother; her steady, supportive father—and of the bittersweet moments that accompany a child’s transition to caregiver.And here, braided into the overall narrative, Renkl offers observations on the world surrounding her suburban Nashville home. Ringing with rapture and heartache, these essays convey the dignity of bluebirds and rat snakes, monarch butterflies and native bees. As these two threads haunt and harmonize with each other, Renkl suggests that there is astonishment to be found in common things: in what seems ordinary, in what we all share. For in both worlds—the natural one and our own—“the shadow side of love is always loss, and grief is only love’s own twin.”Gorgeously illustrated by the author’s brother, Billy Renkl, Late Migrations is an assured and memorable debut.“Magnificent . . . Readers will savor each page and the many gems of wisdom they contain.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Antim Jan Tak - Vikalaangajan Adhikaaraarjan Chetana Ke Purodha - Shri Santosh Kumar Rungata: अंतिम जन तक: विकलांगजन अधिकारार्जन चेतना के पुरोधा श्री संतोष कुमार रूंगटा
by Kusumlata Malikअंतिम जन तक प्रोफेसर कुसुमलता मलिक द्वारा लिखित एक सामाजिक क्रांति का प्रेरक दस्तावेज़ है। यह राष्ट्रीय दृष्टिहीन संघ (NFB) के महासचिव श्री संतोष कुमार रूंगटा के जीवन और उनके संघर्षों का विस्तृत वर्णन करती है। पुस्तक विकलांग समुदाय के अधिकारों, उनके संघर्ष, और सामाजिक न्याय की आवश्यकता को गहराई से समझाने का प्रयास करती है। श्री रूंगटा ने दृष्टिहीनों के लिए समर्पित संघर्ष के माध्यम से यह सिद्ध किया कि विकलांगता कमजोरी नहीं, बल्कि जागरूकता और दृढ़ संकल्प के माध्यम से समाज को प्रेरित करने की शक्ति है। उन्होंने विकलांग समाज को आत्मनिर्भरता और सामाजिक सम्मान दिलाने में ऐतिहासिक योगदान दिया। यह पुस्तक रूंगटा जी के जीवन को केवल घटनाओं का संग्रह नहीं, बल्कि सामाजिक परिवर्तन और विकलांगता के प्रति संवेदनशील दृष्टिकोण का प्रतीक है। इसमें उनकी नेतृत्व शैली, संघर्षों, और समाज के प्रति उनके योगदान को रोचक और प्रेरक तरीके से प्रस्तुत किया गया है। प्रोफेसर मलिक ने इस पुस्तक में न केवल रूंगटा जी के जीवन को गहराई से देखा है, बल्कि इसे समाज के विभिन्न पहलुओं से जोड़कर एक उदात्त आख्यान बनाया है। अंतिम जन तक न केवल विकलांग जनों के लिए, बल्कि हर संवेदनशील व्यक्ति के लिए प्रेरणा का स्रोत है।
Child of the South Dakota Frontier
by Lenna KolashIn this memoir, a woman shares memories of her childhood spent homesteading in early twentieth-century Midwestern America. When her family homesteaded in 1915, seven-year-old Lenna O&’Neill found her first love: the South Dakota prairie. Born in Wisconsin where her Irish immigrant father had come to study for the ministry, she discovered best friends in her pony Duke and her collie Fanny as she adapted to the harshness of prairie life. Eventually the hard times of drought drove the family back to live in a town, but she never forgot the wonders of her life as a child on the South Dakota prairie. Lenna recorded her life during these prairie years for her family. She opens her account with a return to the homestead years later with her husband, William Kolash, and her children. The lone tree remaining by a dilapidated front gate, planted by Lenna and her father decades before, recalls voices echoing from the past and memories that rolled away the years…Child of the South Dakota Prairie is an edited version of her recollections, published as a tribute by her daughter, B. J. Farmer.
Last Train to Texas: My Railroad Odyssey (Railroads Past And Present Ser.)
by Fred W. FraileyA veteran railroad columnist takes readers on a wild ride through the American train industry with remembrances that crisscross the country and the world.In Last Train to Texas, author Fred W. Frailey examines the workings behind the railroad industry and captures incredible true stories along the way. He vividly portrays the industries larger-than-life characters, such as William “Pisser Bill” F. Thompson, who weathered financial ruin, bad merger deals, and cutthroat competition, all while racking up enough notoriety to inspire a poem titled “Ode to a Jerk.”Whether he’s riding the Canadian Pacific Railway through a blizzard, witnessing a container train burglary in the Abo Canyon, or commemorating a poem to Limerick Junction in Dublin, Frailey’s journeys are rife with excitement, incident, and the spirit of the rails. Filled with humorous anecdotes and thoughtful insights into the railroading industry, Last Train to Texas is a grand adventure for the railroad connoisseur.